Thursday, November 20, 2008



Just a reminder for those of you interested in coming. Tomorrow night at 6 pm I will be speaking at The Bridge Academy. The address is 148 W. 600 S. in Provo. I will be speaking about my journey as an artist and giving my insight about what I have learned along the way.
No kidding, I was in the middle of painting this woman standing in the middle of balloons when my friend and amazing photographer Janelle called me and told me that she had been thinking about photographing my girls with a bunch of balloons. It amazes me how we were running parallel on our creative train of thought. Yesterday morning she and I spent 2 hours picking out balloons. You should have seen us choosing color combinations... honestly, it was a blast. Janelle is one of my favorite creative friends, definitely one I am most similar to. Her creativity is so inspiring to me. The photo of my girls with the balloons is one I took. The photo shoot was a blast and I can't wait to see Janelle's photos.

Friday, November 14, 2008


I switched the oil paint I was using to Rembrandt and I cannot even begin to express the difference it is already making in my painting. For the first time in a while now I can hardly wait to get to the easel painting is so much fun!

Kim Garfield, an amazing artist herself sent me something in an email describing my work and I was so struck by how perceptive she was about what I paint. It is very exciting to me when people and especially other artists are able to see beyond the surface of what I create. Anyway what she said was: "There is an earnestness emitting from your paintings. It's difficult to explain. And though you paint whimsical, almost nostalgic subject matter, there prevails a sense of loss.....a wish almost, that life as depicted in your paintings was the reality, not the unattained ideal." Kim, I thoroughly enjoyed lunch with you the other day. Thank you for the things you said... I needed to hear them more than you will know.

My friends at The Bridge academy asked me to be a guest speaker next Friday, November 21st. I will be addressing the students but it is open to anyone who would like to attend. I will be talking about my own path as an artist, things I have learned, and offering my advice and insight into pursuing a career as a professional artist. The Bridge is located in Provo and I will be speaking at 6 pm. For the exact address click on my link to the Bridge website under my artist friends.

Thursday, November 6, 2008


This painting is five years old, but I wanted to post it to show you how I have evolved. There are many elements of my (now evolved) style and I find it interesting to remember where I came from. I was at a good friends studio yesterday and we had a very poignant conversation about creativity and criticism. Lately I have found myself comparing my art to others and if I allowed it to continue it would be the very death of me. We were talking about how important it is NOT to criticize your own and others art. The reason I posted this painting is because there is a part of me that could rip it to shreds. I cannot help but appreciate that I let myself go through this stage. As an artist my learning and "practice" is documented with each new painting. On the other hand a master pianist for example, also becomes great by practice but what we hear is the end result sometimes forgetting... all the time, all the mistakes that got them to that place. As you already know two of my favorite artists are my girls Aleah who is 9 and Eve who is 7. There is such a freedom and freshness in their drawings that can only come through their own innocence. A quality that I have had to fight to reclaim and still struggle to hold on to. I know I have quoted this many times but feel like it is so appropriate here. Julia Cameron said "Remember by being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance over time to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one."